Thursday, March 19, 2009

Semi - Healthy Pav for Pav Bhaji

Yesterday I wanted to make Pav Bhaji for dinner as I was bored of making the same old Chapathi, palya ( subji) , rice and dal. I wanted to make Pav from scratch so started my search on the net and found 2 awesome recipes one from VahChef( uses all purpose flour) and the other from Jugalbandhi ( healthy version uses whole wheat flour). So I combined the 2 recipes together and made my own and it turned out moist and delicious. I haven't posted the Bhaji recipe because I think all most all of you make it at home. If you try it let me know how it turned out!

1. Add the sugar and yeast to a bowl, then add 1 cup luke warm milk, mix and leave it for a while for the yeast to get active, it will take abt 5- 10mins. You will see a nice froth, thats when you will know that it is ready. Then add salt.

2. In a large bowl mix both the flours. Make a well in the middle and add the milk, start kneading, if the dough is too dry then add the water 1 tbsp at a time and knead further.

3. Knead for about 6-8 minutes adding the melted butter, until you get a smooth, elastic ball of dough. If it is too watery then add a little flour.

4. Kneading can be done either on the kitchen counter or in a large bowl.

5. Put it in a large bowl, cover the bowl with oiled cling wrap, and keep it in a warm place until doubled in quantity. (one to 1.5 hours)

5. Lightly grease and dust a baking tray.

6. Punch the dough down gently, knead it a bit, divide it into 6 or 8 parts, depending on how big you like the pavs.

7. Roll each piece into a ball, cupping your palm, into tight balls. It has to be done in just one direction.

8. Place the balls on a baking sheet 1 inch apart, press then down very lightly, and cover them with a cling wrap. Let them rise again in a warm place until almost doubled (about 30 minutes). When they rise, they will merge at the edges.

9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F. After the second rising, bake the breads for 13-15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in them comes out clean. Brush with the butter and bake for another 5 minutes.